“KABOOM!” “SLAM!” and “ARRGH!” Supplemented By “ERADICATE!” “RELINQUISH!” and “ILLUMINATE!”

Kaplan and TOKYOPOP Release Action-Packed Manga Graphic Novel Series with Vocabulary-Building SAT and ACT Words

NEW YORK, June 14, 2007 – Forget your parents’ test prep – this isn’t your older sibling’s either. 
Global educational services provider Kaplan and TOKYOPOP, one of the world’s leading youth-oriented entertainment brands, are bringing a lot more “ZAM” and “POW” to the SAT and ACT prep experiences with the release of the Kaplan SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga series.  This series of popular graphic novels features manga – the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons – with hundreds (more than 300 in each graphic novel) of frequently tested words on these essential* college admissions exams to create a unique set of test prep comics. 

This series represents the newest trend in teen reading and the fastest growing segment in the publishing industry, with manga sales jumping 22 percent from 7.8 million books in 2005 to 9.5 million last year.  Appealing to teens interested in a good read, the Kaplan SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga series provides an engaging, nontraditional method of vocabulary review, allowing the reader to crack the context of SAT and ACT words not only from the surrounding text on the page and the definitions in talk bubbles around the margins, but also from the graphic elements of the story.  The series kicks off with three thrilling graphic novels:

• Warcraft: Dragon Hunt:  Students can read all about Kalec, the blue dragon who assumes human form, and his hazardous* adventures and watershed* revelations as he tries to elude* the Undead Scourge.  

• Psy-Comm:  Students can learn how our futuristic heroes try to overcome* the cunning* plans of futuristic robber barons who jeopardize* common humanity with a constant war for ratings and population control.

• Van Von Hunter: Van Von Hunter always shows exemplary* fortitude* before nefarious* enemies like vampires, beasts and zombies, in the Kingdom of Dikay.

“With a growing number of students taking the SAT and ACT and the college admissions process more competitive than ever, we wanted to provide students with a fresh test prep resource that will add some much needed fun to what can be a daunting* learning experience,” said Mark Ward, president of college prep programs at Kaplan.  “The Kaplan SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga series will help build students’ test-taking endurance* and vocabulary knowledge, making them more confident* going into test day.”

Founded in 1938, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions (www.kaptest.com), also a division of Kaplan Inc, prepares tens of thousands of students annually for the SAT and ACT, through classroom and online courses and materials, private tutoring and free academic events. 

The Kaplan SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga series is Kaplan Publishing’s latest initiative in adapting to students’ learning habits.  Kaplan also produces hundreds of book titles and test prep tools, including “SAT in a Box,” featuring 600 palm-sized flashcards in a compact box covering question types from each section of the SAT for students seeking wallet-sized test prep, and “SAT Score-Raising Classics,” featuring highlighted SAT vocabulary words and easily cross-referenced definitions in literary classics like Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe and The War of the Worlds.

The Kaplan SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga series will be available wherever books are sold beginning in mid-July.

Note: All words with an asterisk next to them/bolded are commonly tested SAT and ACT words featured in the Kaplan SAT/ACT Vocabulary-Building Manga series.

About Kaplan Publishing

Kaplan Publishing is one of the nation's leading publishers of academic and professional development resources, producing more than 150 new titles annually, on topics such as general business, real estate, finance and investing, test preparation, college and graduate school admissions, academic and professional development. Kaplan Publishing is the number one provider of test prep materials for a variety of standardized tests, including GRE, GMAT, LSAT, SAT, MCAT, TOEFL, and more.  Kaplan Publishing is a unit of Kaplan, Inc., a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

About TOKYOPOP

TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company's global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with recent offices opening in the UK and Germany and partnerships in Australia and China, in addition to its original Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto www.TOKYOPOP.com, reading its books, and watching its DVDs and television programs, TOKYOPOP's award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace.

SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which neither sponsors nor endorses this product

ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., which neither sponsors nor endorses this product

Press Contact

Russell Schaffer

212-453-7538

russell.schaffer@kaplan.com 

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